1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to archery and more specifically to a vibration dampened barrel for a crossbow, which includes a reduction in vibration and noise in the barrel when the crossbow is discharged.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Historically, archery bows and crossbows have been used for war, survival, sport, and recreation. A specific component of a shooting crossbow is the barrel. Various methods are known in the production of crossbow barrels. Crossbow barrels have been fabricated from hollow extrusions, machined billet, injection molding and other methods. A hollow or at least partially hollow barrel is more prone to the vibration associated with the problems that are addressed by the present invention. Prior methods, such as flat rubber pads, elongated rubber capsules, and multiple elongated fingers of rubber have all been used to dampen vibration. While all of these methods work to some extent, all have significant issues with performance and/or assembly and cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,596 to Bednar discloses a rubber pad positioned between the bow riser and the leading end of the barrel, which is designed to isolate vibration from the riser to the barrel. U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,514 to Chang compresses a resilient element between the bow riser and the forward end of the barrel, also attempting to isolate the riser from the barrel. Though both of these methods work to an extent, they both do little or nothing to control vibration generated within the barrel itself. U.S. Pat. No. 8,656,899 to Bednar uses an insert to dampen shock created by the cable slide as the slide moves, after the discharge of the crossbow. This only works as a partial dampening of vibration caused within the barrel. Due to the inherent design of hollow extrusions, vibration may transmit from anywhere along a length of the barrel. These methods only work to confine vibration from the forward end of the barrel.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art to provide a vibration-dampened barrel for a crossbow, which allows vibration control through an entire length of the crossbow barrel. A cross sectional design of the barrel is key to optimizing the vibration dampening control.